New Jersey awards slightly extra transition aid to Paterson

By JOE MALINCONICO

Paterson Press

PATERSON – As city officials try to close their $5 million budget gap, they got some good news from Trenton on Friday afternoon.

Paterson City Hall

The state has decided to give Paterson $23 million in transition aid for the current fiscal year, which is slightly more than what city officials had included in their $241.6 million preliminary budget. The award represents a $600,000 increase compared to the $22.4 million Paterson received last year. But it’s less than the $27 million that Paterson had applied for.

“I think this shows the state recognized we’re going in a positive direction,” said Paterson Business Administrator Charles Thomas. “They see we’re complying with the requirements of the MOU,” Thomas added, referring to the annual agreement known as a Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, that covers the transition aid.

"It also demonstrates our need.”

Thomas said the administration has been working on making additional budget cuts while awaiting word from Trenton. He said he expect to present to the City Council an updated version of the city’s proposed 2014 budget in the next several weeks.Council president Andre Sayegh said he was encouraged by the state’s decision.

“Our lobbying efforts were successful because we’re getting more than last year,” Sayegh said. “But we have to remember it is transition aid and we have to find more sustainable revenue going forward.”

State officials say the purpose of the transition aid program is help struggling cities get through financial problems. But they say it’s supposed to be stopgap funding and not a permanent source of funding.

Even if city officials find the cuts to close their $5 million budget gap, Paterson taxpayers still face an increase in 2014. With $5 million cut from the budget, the increase would be 4.43 percent, or average annual hike of $255.

Under the state’s cap law, the city cannot go higher than that. Officials say they want to find more cuts to bring the increase to less than 4.43 percent.

New Jersey awards slightly extra transition aid to Paterson

PATERSON – As city officials try to close their $5 million budget gap, they got some good news from Trenton on Friday afternoon.

The state has decided to give Paterson $23 million in transition aid for the current fiscal year, which is slightly more than what city officials had included in their $241.6 million preliminary budget. The award represents a $600,000 increase compared to the $22.4 million Paterson received last year. But it’s less than the $27 million that Paterson had applied for.

“I think this shows the state recognized we’re going in a positive direction,” said Paterson Business Administrator Charles Thomas. “They see we’re complying with the requirements of the MOU,” Thomas added, referring to the annual agreement known as a Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, that covers the transition aid.

"It also demonstrates our need.”

Thomas said the administration has been working on making additional budget cuts while awaiting word from Trenton. He said he expect to present to the City Council an updated version of the city’s proposed 2014 budget in the next several weeks.Council president Andre Sayegh said he was encouraged by the state’s decision.

“Our lobbying efforts were successful because we’re getting more than last year,” Sayegh said. “But we have to remember it is transition aid and we have to find more sustainable revenue going forward.”

State officials say the purpose of the transition aid program is help struggling cities get through financial problems. But they say it’s supposed to be stopgap funding and not a permanent source of funding.

Even if city officials find the cuts to close their $5 million budget gap, Paterson taxpayers still face an increase in 2014. With $5 million cut from the budget, the increase would be 4.43 percent, or average annual hike of $255.

Under the state’s cap law, the city cannot go higher than that. Officials say they want to find more cuts to bring the increase to less than 4.43 percent.